


Exam Day

by RosyPumpkin, ShadowoftheLamp



Series: Flowers Bloom With Love and Hard Work [6]
Category: Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: College AU, M/M, Romance, death mention, flower shop au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-30
Updated: 2016-12-30
Packaged: 2018-09-13 12:38:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9123919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RosyPumpkin/pseuds/RosyPumpkin, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowoftheLamp/pseuds/ShadowoftheLamp
Summary: It's time to take the test.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I'm posting these in order timeline wise for now, but future pieces may be out of order. If you're ever confused, the timeline can be found here:
> 
> http://rosypumpkinstudios.tumblr.com/flowershoptimeline

“Hey Shadow!” Tails waved to him from his seat in the library, ignoring the librarian glaring at him. Shadow’s ears twitched as he turned to his fox friend, making his way through the tables. He set his backpack down gently, though Tails knew it had to be heavy.

“Hey Tails. Thanks for waiting for me.” 

“Sure thing! You said you wanted to study geometry right?”

“Yeah. And then biology.”

“Isn’t that Eggman’s class?”

“Yeah.”

“Jeez, I’m sorry for you dude. I was in his class for like, two days tops before I got the heck outta there.” 

“I wish I could get out, but all the other biology classes are either during the day or taken.”

Tails tapped his pencil to his lips, thinking. “I know it’s not any of my business, but why do you work so hard? The flower shop and classes must put so much stress on you. Wouldn’t you rather wait and work at home to save money for college?”

Shadow sighed, rubbing his eyes. “I needed to get away from home. Things were stressful there. Plus I want to make my teachers proud of me, and college was the best way to do that and probably get a better job.”

Tails smiled kindly, “I’m sure they’d be super proud of you. You’re a hard worker.”

“Thank you.” He reached into his bag, pulling out a little box full of flash cards. “Anyway, quiz me on these, then we can work on the next chapter.”

~*~

Shadow sat on his bunk, back to the wall, silently taking notes from his textbook as his foxy friend caught up on his English chapters, laying on his stomach. 

“My biology final is tomorrow.” He said suddenly.

Tails eyes widened in shock. “Already?! But like, isn’t everyone else’s next Friday?”

“Um, yeah, he’s just giving it to his students early so he can leave on vacation.”

“Oh.” Tails scratched at his ears, glancing back down at the giant biology textbook. “Wow, he really does screw his students over. You just learned this chapter right?”

“Yeah.”

“Shouldn’t you at least have a review day? If not a couple?”

Shadow groaned, “not in Eggman’s class. He doesn’t give a shit.”

“Jeez.” Tails rolled over and sat up. “No wonder you’re so stressed out.” 

“Heh, yeah. I’ll be right back.”

“‘Kay.” 

Shadow walked across his small dorm room into the bathroom just as Rouge walked in. 

“Oh hello, who is this?” She said, her flashy makeup smeared ever so slightly.

“I’m Tails. I’m a friend of Shadow’s. Nice to meet you!” He stuck out his hand, smiling brightly.

“Ugh, finally. He’s been so asocial these days. I’m Rouge, Shadow’s childhood friend.”

“Cool!” Tails’ tails twitched. “You said he’s been asocial?”

“Yes. He says it’s because of his workload, which honestly, I understand. But I know there’s more to it, I know there is.”

Tails tilted his head. “Like what?” 

Rouge sighed. “Well, I only know what I saw on TV. Do you remember that massive bank heist about a year ago?”

“At the Wellsfargo? Yeah, I remember that. So many people were killed.”

“His grandpa and sister where some of the victims.”

“Oh my god!” Tails face went pale, “I didn’t know that!”

“Yeah. He’s okay with me telling this story, by the way. He prefers that I tell it.” She sighed, glancing at his desk. She picked up the picture frame sitting on it. It was a family photo; an elderly man with a wild mustache and no hair, a young woman, blond hair and blue eyes in a blue dress, and a much younger Shadow sitting between them, his smile was blurry and he was looking at something else, clearly squirming around.

“They adopted him when he was five, when I met him. His sister Maria was his best friend next to me. He was so different back then, full of life. We were in high school when it happened. He was heartbroken for a few days but never went to counseling, going straight into college assuring everyone he was fine, but I think it hurt him a lot. He misses them dearly, I know that for sure.” 

She handed the photo to the fox. “His teachers told him he’d never get into college because he had no way to pay for it. To their surprise he got a near full ride through college because of his scholarship, plus his grandpa’s inheritance. He doesn’t touch it though. He’s so stubborn, he wants to pay his way through college himself, even if it means dying of stress.”

“Wow.” Tails set the picture down on his lap. “I don’t know what to say. That’s so horrible.” 

“It’s okay. It’s a sad thing to talk about. He hasn’t really been able to talk to people since then, besides me and his boss. He says she’s a lot like Maria. I guess he’s just afraid of getting hurt again.”

Shadow suddenly stepped out of the bathroom, the door creaking, making them turn to him. He stood in silence for a moment, looking between them, before walking up and taking his photo back. 

“It’s not a pity story, so don’t feel sorry for me. Everyone has a loved one they will loose someday, mine just happened to come at a young age.” He set the picture back onto his desk. “I won’t deny what happened, but don’t let this change your opinion of me. I’m perfectly capable on my own.”

“Shadow…”

Shadow turned to him. His eyes were tired, but bereft of their usual irritation. Instead, they were filled with immense fear and sadness, and in that moment Tails realized how lonely he must be. The workload, while being heavy, kept his mind off of things, as well as a way to isolate himself. He didn’t want to get hurt again, so he kept everyone out, and it was suddenly very clear just how vital their relationship was. Tails moved to hug him, being struck with a sense of love and protectiveness, but was stopped when Shadow held his hands away from him. 

“Listen. I do not need your pity. I only need some time to figure things out. I appreciate your support though.” Shadow let go of his hands, moving to give his bangs a gentle rub, similar to what he had seen Sonic do. 

“I would appreciate it if you didn’t tell Sonic though. You know how he is.”

“Right. He’d get all fussy.” 

“Exactly.” 

Rouge set a hand on her hip. “I didn’t know Sonic had a brother.”

“Yeah, that’s me!” 

Shadow stretched, glancing at his alarm clock. It was ten twenty five PM.

“Speaking of which, didn’t Sonic say he was gonna come pick you up at ten thirty?” 

“Oh you’re right! I should pack up my bags.” Tails stopped halfway through reaching for his book, looking back to him. “You said you have biology at eleven right?”

Shadow shrugged. “It’s my first class every night. Why?”

“Just wondering.” 

~*~

Shadow took a deep breath, looking over his desk. Notebooks, flashcards, and his textbook were arranged neatly on the wooden surface. Shadow glanced at the clock. Ten fifty PM on the dot. He’d spent every moment he could preparing for this unfair exam, and he grit his teeth. He would not let Eggman get the best of him. He wrung out his hands, put his number two pencil, eraser, calculator, ruler and a water bottle in a small gym bag, and left his dorm. Just as he locked the door, a Sonic blue blur rushed past him, ruffling his quills in the wind, before Sonic suddenly appeared by his side.

“Hey Shadow!” Sonic said, only slightly out of breath, “glad I didn’t miss you!”

“Sonic, I have to go take a test, what-”

“Yeah about that, I wanted to walk with you.”

Shadow paused, dumbfounded. “Why?”

“Because you seemed stressed out about it! I thought it would be nice. Besides, it’s a nice night. Might as well be outside.” 

Shadow blinked, processing, before rolling his eyes. “If you want to, I guess I can’t stop you. You’re lucky nobody really goes out at night.” 

Sonic turned to walk down the hallway by Shadow’s side. “Why’s that?”

“Because people think I’m weird.” 

“Well, you kinda are. Ow!” Sonic rubbed his shoulder where Shadow had punched him. “You are though! You’re so mysterious and dark. Most people think it’s weird, but I think it’s cool.”

“You’re pretty weird too then. Why you buy flowers everyday is a mystery to me.”

“Well, they sure are pretty, but it’s also nice to get ta’ hang out with you, the prettiest flower of them all.” 

Shadow cocked a brow at him. “Thank you? I think?”

Sonic laughed, and though Shadow dreaded this exam, that laugh made him feel a little lighter.

~*~

When Shadow came out of the exam room the pit in his stomach stayed with him. He felt he had done well, but knowing Professor Robotnik, it all depended on what mood he was in while grading. The waiting room was empty, save for a blue hedgehog who was snoring quite loudly and drooling all over the lounge chairs. Shadow walked up to him, leaning over to blow in his ears. They twitched and flicked before Sonic snorted awake. 

“Oh-” he said groggily, yawning. “Hey Shads. Did you do good?”

“I think so. We’ll have to see.” He ran a hand through his quills. “I have to go to my next class. I’ll see you at five thirty?”

“Damn, you have more classes?” Sonic yawned. “When do you sleep?”

“Five to nine AM.” 

“Jesus, I could never run on that.”

“Neither can I. And thus, my relationship with coffee grew very serious.”

“How serious?”

“We’re getting married soon.” 

“Well shoot, looks like I missed my shot.”

“Oh shut up.” Shadow gave his face what was intended to be a slap, but came off more as an angry pat. 

“I need to go, but I wanted to say thank you.”

“For what?”

“For walking me over. It was nice.”

“I told you it would be.”

“Fuck off.”

Sonic chuckled and stood up. “I’m gonna go home. Good night Shadow.”

“Good night.” 

“And Shadow?”

“Yeah?”

Sonic patted his shoulder. “When spring break gets here, do yourself a favor and take a fucking nap.”

Shadow laughed, but it was strained. “Trust me, I plan on doing nothing else.”


End file.
